Ink and Flame
by Sakyra
Summary: Based on Fire It is of a young monster that no one knew of called ink that sets off to join the fight for the Dells.
1. Chapter 1

Ink gazed at the sight of the Dells. His dark green and blue hair glinted in the sun as he gazed around the

woods with bright violet eyes. He notched an arrow and pulled his arm back aiming at a green rabbit. He swiftly

loosed it and the rabbit squealed. He quickly ran and grabbed it before its blood attracted anything unpleasant.

Hiking home he was greeted by the few that lived here. In these reaches of the dells few ventured. Thus no-one

knew of him, which he liked. Not being known about kept him safe. He nudged the minds around him. He kept

them from seeing the monster he was. His prism of hair or unnatural eyes attracted way to much unwanted

attention. To them he looked like a dashingly handsome orphan that lived on his own.

He didn't know who his monster father was, and didn't care. Monsters were what they called his kind,

people or animals that controlled others minds and enchanted them with immense beauty. Once they were

enchanted larger monsters normally killed the enchanted poor saps. And monsters also craved other monsters

flesh, but he didn't mind being different. No what he was curious is he had heard of their being two others of his

kind, but one had died in some sort of accidental suicide. But he didn't trust the hill-dwellers. For all he knew a

girl with hair like flames could have been some story. If she was real on the other hand he would like to meet

her. He stepped into his stone house and shut the door before heading to a area that could have been called a

kitchen. Busied in his thoughts he didn't hear someone knocking on the door. "One moment!" He called fixing a

cap on his head to hide his hair. He didn't feel like nudging minds at the moment. He curiously felt the mind was

shielded and opened the door a crack. "yes? May I help you?" It was a well built man with the garb of the Kings

Army.

The man clicked his tongue appraising the boy. "I am recruiting for the king's army and one of your

neighbors told me there would be a strong lad here that might be useful for us. What do you say boy? Do you

wish to fight for your home, the Dells?"

Ink blinked startled. He was only 18 and had not thought much about what he would do with his life. As

much as the thought of doing something useful sounded great the idea of fighting for hill-dwellers who don't

even care about the area he lived in to keep it clear of bandits and lawlessness bothered him. "Why? This is the

first time any of you have ventured up here up to the place of mountains and caves for years."

The man nodded."I thought the same thing, but the wages are good and I get travel, do something

useful with my life. Consider it lad, we leave at dawn."

Shutting the door with a swift good-bye, Ink retired to bed thinking about it.

When he woke it was just after dawn and he knew his answer. Slinging his quiver and bow onto his

back and belting his sword to his hip he took off with a small bag of food and herbs. He didn't have anything

much of worth besides his weapons anyway. As he ran he saw a group of soldiers marching ahead of him and

braced his mind and lowered his eyes, hoping they wouldn't notice his eye color or he wore a cap with no hair

showing. With a wave to the well built man he caught up, breathing hard from the effort. Sweat trickled down his

face as the man clapped him on the back.

"Almost missed us lad, and let me welcome you to the King's Army. March for now, when we next stop

for camp we will talk further." The man went on ahead to talk to a man on horseback.

Now that he noticed, ink saw that the man was the only one on foot and the rest had mounted horses. And

most of them were locals from this area. The man came back with two horses, one obviously his own the other

for..him? Ink's eyes widened, he had never rode a horse or even owned one. As he struggled to mount it the

man chuckled.

"My name is Ikam by the way. What's yours lad?" Ikam gazed at him steadily.

"My name is…Ink." Ink replied finally in the saddle. He found the man easy to talk to as they began

conversing as the small group of soldiers rode through the rocky slopping Forrest, heading for the hills below. They talked of light topics: Home, differences, the land.

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><p>Thanks for reading chapter one. i do have chapter 2 typed and will publish it as soon as im able to. If you like review with ideas and ill take them into consideration. who knows it might end up in the story. Chapter three is being written along with four.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for continuing to read Ink and Fire.

As the sun began to set the company halted and dismounted. Ink gladly slid off his horse with a groan. He had never rode a horse and was surprised at how much he ached. The day had been long and maybe a mark ago they had encountered several raptor monsters. He had swiftly downed one with an arrow and other archers followed downing the other four. Shaking his head he felt many curious gazes and saw some women watching him with smiles, giggling. He sighed, that was the one thing he hoped had not been here, women. Women always followed him around and asked if he was married and all that nonsense. He nudged their minds reminding them they had more important things to do. He walked over to Ikan. The man had some papers in front of him and a uniform of armor lay out on a makeshift table. Ikan turned and smiled at him.

"Sign that" Ikan waved at the parchment.

"What is it?"Ink questioned as he walked over and began reading it. His literacy was abysmal but his mother had taught him what she felt he needed before she had passed away from fever.

"It gives you command of a squad of soldiers. I like you Ink. Let me blunt, I knew what you were when I saw you. This will give you many great opportunities here." Ikam laughed.

Ink was flabbergasted. "Me? In command? But I just joined." This was more he had wanted He had joined in the hope that the dells could be pulled out of the muck. Not to lead a squad of 20 men and women. But the more he thought the more he saw the wisdom. The men and women would not question him and he would be respected as a charismatic leader when they did what he asked, not suspected of being a monster. "I will sign." He scrawled his signature and Ikam dusted a powder over the ink. Ikam thumped him on the shoulder and ink looked at him. "By the way…how did you know? What I was?"

Ikam appraised him seriously. "It was the way you carried yourself, the way you acted. It was a wild guess but by your reaction I knew I was right. Don't worry boy I will not tell your secret."

Ink thanked him and took his armor and supplies back to an empty plot. He began setting up his tent. As he worked he felt a curious mind approach him...but that was all he felt...the rest was shielded. Looking up he saw an older man, maybe 50, Gazing at him. The man and Ink stared back and forth for a long moment, violet eyes meeting dark brown. The man grunted and turned walking away, leaving Ink feeling slightly uneven. Ink finished laying out his items and went to go meet his group of soldiers by the fire. He sat down and they all watched him with slightly dazed expressions. Ink growled irritated but calmed himself. "Soldiers, what are your names?" The first a young girl of 15ish answered saying her name was Hailey. Then a man named Oranth introduced himself soon followed by the others. Ink swayed trying to remember all their names. One of the men handed him a pewter bowl filled with raptor monster stew. He ate it gratefully, hopping no one noticed how much he savored the meat most of all. After he finished he excused himself and retired to his tent. Giving the soldiers orders not to let anyone disturb him, he pulled off the cap and rubbed his scalp. With a sigh he lay on his mat, cots or something he believed hill-dwellers called them, and closed his eyes. Soon he was deeply asleep.

Several marks later he startled awake to find a woman staring down at him, her hands running through his hair. He sat up quickly his eyes wide. The woman smiled, she wore not the garb of a soldier but that of a village woman. She stared at him with a fascinated smile. Swearing he nudged her mind telling her she needed to leave when she handed him a letter before scampering away. He opened the letter and lit a candle for better light. He skimmed it and then again with a frown. It was a message from the king's brother, the commander, and he was wishing to meet him. Ink thought most likely it was to see if he liked what he saw. Apparently an official courier had been supposed to deliver it but somehow the woman had gotten her hand on it…or had she been the courier? With that thought he retired to sleep thinking the next time they slept it would be near a large village and they could get something to drink or something from the local merchants. This time he slept to dawn without anymore interruptions.

Thank you for reading chapter two...I need to slow down a bit...Im still a bit fast paced but don't worry this story will still go on for many chapters yet.


	3. Chapter 3

Ink grinned as the village came into sight on the horizon. He leaned forward on his horse. They had set out at

dawn that morning. It had been a bland day with nothing happening. Well there had been a fight earlier but Ink

had not been there so he had no clue on what it had been about. He heard a laugh and turned to see Ikam

smiling at him.

"Relax son. You're going to hurt the horse if you keep that up. I received word from a trusted friend. Apparently a

hunter who accidentally shot someone was killed by an arrow this morning. Dead aim from a long distance."Ikam

explained the details, sparingly. He left out names and where but Ink didn't put much thought into that.

Ink frowned pondering on that even. That person must have been a natural with a bow, he was good but he

couldn't get a shot like Ikam had described unless he was close. He studied Ikam for a moment. The man was

grinning and laughing jovially as he spoke with another soldier. He turned his attention back ahead. For the most

part as they rode the sound of hooves was muffled by the loose dirt, but sometimes there would be a cobble and

the horses hooves would clack loudly. Something as they got closer to the town was putting him on edge. He

could feel the crawl of goose flesh on his arms as he gazed ahead. He puzzled for a moment seeing the ripe

harvest in the fields and wondered where the farmers were. He turned to Ikam but the man was already on

alert. The troop had grown silent as they rode along. Several had become jump their heads swinging about

when they heard a noise. Ink reached back and slid his bow out of its quiver with an arrow. He was glad he had

stung his bow that morning. Beside him he could hear the sharp sound of Ikam drawing his blade. Ink pulled his

horse to a stop when Ikam raised his hand to halt the company.

Ikam turned to the group and spoke softly. "There is something wrong. We are close now and normally we would

be able to hear sounds from this distance and the workers would be in the fields. As you know the last time we

passed through here. Keep your swords in reach and be on ready in case of attack." Ikam turned his steed and

began towards the town as a slow walk.

Ink was worried but kept firm. He had his horse catch up just behind Ikam's. Ink feeling uneasy notched a bow.

Then he felt it. The minds of men who he had the feeling should not be there. As he rode to the entrance he felt

panicked as he felt their intentions. He called out "duck" just as the first volley of arrows came. Ink swerved out

of the line of fire and dismounted. He listened to the cries of men who did not get out of the way in time. Ink

pulled back an arrow and moved so he could see the target on the roof. At the same time it gave him a clear shot

it left him open. So he quickly freed the arrow and heard a cry of pain as it hit home. Ink notched another arrow

and ducked down. He gazed over at where the group had been. There were about a dozen or so men laying on

the ground and some of the horses as well. He hoped the ones he could feel that were alive could stay that way

so they could be helped. He jumped as a hand grabbed his shoulder and nearly swung his elbow into the face of

the person before he recognized the voice. It was Hailey...That was her name right? He turned and saw her and

the rest of his troops. They waited calmly for orders but some you could tell were panicking by their eyes…and

minds. Ink swallowed. What should he tell them? These men and women were waiting on him, for his leadership.

He realized that he wasn't meant for this. With another swallow he began to speak. The troop's eyes widened

as they understood what he was saying, some even began to smile. He watched them disperse to their positions

he shook his head feeling like a bundle of nerves. Ink walked over to a building and began to climb it. Once he

reached the top the plan would be set in motion.

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><p>Thank you for reading the next chapter. sorry it took so long i lost this chapter and the next couple so im having to rewrite them. please bare with me :


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it has been so long since my last chapter! now let us continue.

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><p>As ink reached the top he let out a bellow. All the archers looked at him but before they could fire they all were filled with arrows. He then rushed across the makeshift wall. He jumped over a man he assumed to be dead and stabbed an archer in the side only to feel a white-hot pain in his leg. He pulled his sword out and the man dropped. Turning he saw an arrow in his leg. The man on the ground had stabbed him with it. Ink frowned and stabbed him in the neck before continuing. He killed the 2 others by overwhelming their minds. When he finished he looked back to see the damage…and promptly threw up. As he whipped his mouth he winced. Now that the archers were gone he could hear the shouts and cries of fighting in the town. The main force was already in and swiftly taking care of the thugs. He began climbing down off of the wall again. His pain in his leg was bad. With each movement it hurt and nearly sent him falling. When he reached the bottom the bandits had all been killed. He gazed around at what once must have been a nice village but now the fountain in the center was broken to pieces on one side a chunk missing, its water dried up, several houses around it had been burned. to the ground As he walked a smell hit him and he turned, to his right. Piled against a wall with looks of horror painted on their faces, was the villagers. He felt a surge of emotions; sadness, revulsion and most of all hate for what they did. His hand gripped his swords hilt with a death grip as a hand grabbed his shoulder.<p>

"Get a grip boy. Now is not the time for need to get that looked at" Ikam stated sadly before gesturing to his wounded leg. His clothes were gory and his eyes full of sadness." now is the time for them to rest." As he said this soldier began to pull bodies off the pile for a Pire.

Ink walked over to help ignoring Ikam's advice. He lifted a body and noticed something. Mail. He began pulling aside the villagers and found a man in royal soldier garb and broken arrow in his back and a look of surprise on his face. "come quick!"

Ikam and the others rushed over. Ikam swore and they began moving more bodies only to discover more troops." the bastards must have ambushed them outside the gates." They began removing the dead soldiers from the pile before they found a man dressed more for hard travel, his clothes worn. "This. This is a royal courier." Ikam stated and searched the body for a note. "nothing. The message must have been delivered to someone or the bandits must have taken it." He shook his head.

After several hours of hard labor Ink watched the flames soar into the purple-black sky. He sat heavily on a barrel and cleaned his sword. His leg had been bandaged up by a medic who had clicked his tongue at him stating about loss of blood and such. _'A week ago I wouldn't have even thought about being in the army. Today I killed a man.' _But it had been necessary. With that thought he sheathed his sword and returned to his tent. Pulling off everything but his trousers he lay on his cot and fell asleep to the smell of smoke, blood, and death.

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><p>Thank you for continueing to read this. it had been hard. i lost the next chapters and most people who write will agree with the whole 'i hate rewriting the chapter i was just going to publish' thing..or i think. well it does help with ideas. if anyone has any ideas they want to see just shoot me a PM or review thanks again!<p> 


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